Affirming Identities, Building Community: Culturally Responsive School Leadership Practices That Support LGBTQ-Parent Families

• In Event: Student-Focused Leadership for Equity and Justice

Abstract

As federal protections for LGBTQ people are increasingly eliminated in the United States, school leaders must create and sustain inclusive environments with renewed urgency for queer members of their school community. Historically, research has focused on the experiences of LGBTQ students, though a gap remains in the literature concerning LGBTQ parents. This qualitative study explored the ways in which school leaders support and affirm LGBTQ-parent families within PK-12 school communities using the Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL) framework (Khalifa et al., 2016). The findings provided insight into: (1) the lack of institutional visibility for LGBTQ-parent families; (2) how CRSL practices create inclusive environments that decenter heteronormativity; and (3) how school leaders navigate resistance to fostering inclusive environments for LGBTQ-parent families.

Author

• Gerald Maraia, Brooklyn College - CUNY